Japan and China agreed on Sunday to restart mutual visits of their foreign ministers and hold bilateral high-level economic dialogue early next year, a Japanese senior government spokesman said, as ties between Asia's two biggest economies warm.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also agreed the two countries would work toward an early implementation of communication mechanisms between their military forces, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda told reporters following a meeting between Abe and Li in Seoul.
Sino-Japanese relations, haunted by the legacy of Japan's World War Two aggression and conflicting claims over a group of East China Sea islets, have thawed a little since Abe met Chinese President Xi Jinping twice since last November.
The comment came after Japan had called on China to halt construction of oil-and-gas exploration platforms in the East China Sea close to waters claimed by both nations, concerned that Chinese drills could tap reservoirs that extend into Japanese territory.